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Daniel Cage, Founder of Linq3, announced he will transition out of his day to day role at the company effective August 16, 2018. Cage will stay on as Senior Advisor to help guide Linq3’s intellectual property expansion.

“With this new wager, Pick 3 players now have 27 chances to win with a single ticket, and Pick 4 players have 81 chances to win,” said Tom Delacenserie, president and CEO of the Kentucky Lottery. “These daily games have been popular ever since they were introduced in the Commonwealth, and these new features are definitely going to create more winners – which in turn will create more excitement.”

"Several new initiatives really helped push sales to this record-breaking level," said KLC President and CEO Tom Delacenserie. "An increased emphasis on marketing and in-store messaging, changes in prize structures that players really liked, and new measures implemented by our outstanding staff and retailers are the reason for this increase. FY18 was a year where we laid the groundwork for continued success, so we look to continue this growth pattern into FY19."

West Virginia Lottery Director Alan Larrick said, “The West Virginia Lottery considers the GLI-33 event wagering standard an integral component in the regulatory structure for our sports wagering offering. Our team is very grateful to have access to a technical resource that has been worked on collectively by the industry and it will also serve to protect our patrons, vendors, and licensees.”

“It was a great year all around, and we couldn’t be prouder of the contribution that the Lottery and the casinos made to important state programs,” said Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica. “It’s especially gratifying to see both the Lottery and the casinos growing simultaneously.”

“The addition of our first GIGANTIX® game, $10 Royal Gems, proved popular with instant ticket players, and KENO®, which is now entering its tenth year, continued to see growth this year,” Ohio Lottery Director Dennis Berg said, “As we move into the next fiscal year we’ll continue to explore new and innovative products to bring to the market.”

"We are very pleased to continue our strategic partnership with OPAP," said Lorne Weil, Executive Chairman of Inspired. "We have worked closely with OPAP to deliver the best possible products and we are grateful to be awarded additional machines and Virtual Sports content as recognition. We look forward to extending our success with OPAP."

Tabcorp chief executive David Attenborough said digital sales rose strongly in Tabcorp's lotteries business, growing by 27.8 per cent and accounting for almost 18 per cent of total lottery sales. Mr Attenborough said despite customers shift towards online gambling, bricks and mortar stores weren't going anywhere. "It's really at the heart of the of a lot of Australian communities - their local pub and club," he told reporters. "We do not see a development where you end up with digital without retail, all our long-term strategies are about the integration within the retail environment."

“Racetrax has come out of the gate very strong for us,” said Kansas Lottery Executive Director Terry Presta. “With only a minimal amount of advertising, Racetrax is already out performing our expectations and looking like a winner.”

“We’re excited to bring players another Carolina Panthers scratch-off ticket,” said Mark Michalko, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery. “This prize would be a big win for any Panthers fan, and the money raised from ticket sales will be a big win for education.”

Kambi accepts first U.S. wagers following ground-breaking DraftKings Sportsbook debut. Kambi becomes first sportsbook supplier active in New Jersey’s online sports betting market after passing preliminary licensing process. Kambi has created history by becoming the first sports betting supplier to process online wagers in the post-PASPA U.S. market, following the eagerly-anticipated launch of the Kambi-powered DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey.

“If they were ready to open today and they had all their systems in place, we would certainly have to do some testing, but we would be ready to take bets as that testing would conclude,” said Danielle Boyd, managing legal counsel West Virginia Lottery Commission. “If it’s the on-property testing, we anticipate that will anticipate only a few days to complete.”

"Jennifer brings a tremendous combination of experience in government, leadership, and knowledge of how things work in our environment,” said Colorado Lottery Director, Tom Seaver. “Her legal credentials will prove invaluable to the lottery, as will her work ethic, and effectiveness as a manager. We're very happy to have her on the team."

"The Western Canada Lottery Corporation is excited to partner with IGT to update the Saskatchewan VLT network with IGT's best-in-class Video Lottery Terminals and game content," said Eric Karmark, WCLC Vice President, VLT Gaming & Operations. "IGT has been a trusted WCLC partner for more than two decades, and we're pleased that our relationship will continue through this machine replacement cycle."

"With this new wager, Pick 3 players now have 27 chances to win with a single ticket, and Pick 4 players have 81 chances to win," said Tom Delacenserie, president and CEO of the Kentucky Lottery. "These daily games have been popular ever since they were introduced in the Commonwealth, and these new features are definitely going to create more winners - which in turn will create more excitement."

We may be at a tipping point in retail’s history: 2018 could be momentous. With the "retail apocalypse" upon us, it is time we run for our fallout shelters, bar the doors and prepare for what is to come. Brace yourself — here are 10 predictions for retail in 2018.

1. The Doug McMillon/Marc Lore 'bromance' will cool off

Walmart’s acqui-hire of Jet.com founder Marc Lore was brilliant. McMillon admirably put his ego aside to get help, and Lore brought with him an ethos of fast experimentation, alongside an irrefutable digital strategy.

But Walmart still carries a ton of debt — technological, architectural, operational, cultural and even brand debt — and it has possibly become addicted to the flattery of its own PR. This debt will be hard to rewire without disrupting operations or alienating Walmart’s core customers, and, the PR checks it has written voraciously will need to be cashed sometime soon — I mean, seriously, VR galas in Beverly Hills?

By the end of 2018, digital growth will become hard to anniversary organically, and Walmart’s Board of Directors and its old guard leaders will start to ask tough questions about how Lore’s Store No. 8 bets will pay off.

It’s like the scene in Seinfeld, where George realizes he is in a relationship because he finds Tampax in his medicine cabinet. It is only a matter of time before McMillon starts questioning the Tampax (i.e. the R&D) he finds on the books.

2. Kohl’s CEO will wake up sweating from a horrible dream

Michelle Gass, who is slated to become the head of Kohl's in May 2018 when Kevin Mansell retires, will awake frightened as hell from the nocturnal nightmare of being caught in the crossfire of a Grumpy Old Men snowball fight between Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, while she walks to her car in the morning and as Ann-Margret stares blankly at her out of a window.

Gass will then immediately pick up the phone and call her head of business development and say the following words, "Sell! Sell! Sell!"

Kohl’s is between a rock and a demographic hard place. It is hard to see a way out for Kohl’s, Sears, J.C. Penney and possibly even Macy’s. Next year will be the mad "lipstick on a pig" rush to see who can best stage the house for Amazon. Kohl’s may have already set its sights on the buyer (see Kohl’s Amazon Shop-in-Shops).

3. Amazon will announce H2Q location, and America will be happy

Amazon will do what it always does — make a smart move that the public loves. CEO Jeff Bezos will not to pick a location that does not play well publicly. He may even shun all the ridiculous tax breaks that suitor cities have offered up and focus his choice on long-term criteria, like social impact and competitive advantage. Since when has he ever cared about turning a profit?

Specifically, Bezos will pick a location with the following characteristics:

Bet on Bezos locating HQ2 somewhere between Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and Atlanta (both are less than a day’s drive from Bentonville, AR) or within the Midwestern Triangle of Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago.

4. Blue Apron will be a Hail Mary acquisition

Blue Apron’s market capitalization is currently just north of $500M, and its stock price has fallen precipitously since it first went public. Walmart acquired Bonobos for $310M, so an inflexion point may be close.

With respect to Bonobos, what Blue Apron does is much more complicated. Bonobos makes slacks, while Blue Apron specializes in fresh food — the logistics of which are far more complicated and difficult to replicate.

In 2019, a desperate grocer or mass-merchandiser CEO will mistakenly see value in the stock price and leverage an acquisition as a way to appear "innovative," even though such an acquisition will not solve the traffic problem that plagues their business.

The Hail Mary poker tell will be when the acquiring company releases a statement saying, "We are excited about the synergies of offering Blue Apron meal kits in our stores."

5. Bed Bath and Beyond will realize its tremendous assets

While the store still needs work, the concept has a ton of potential. First of all, it houses four of the company's brands under one roof: Bed Bath & Beyond, Face Values, buybuy BABY and Cost Plus World Market. Secondly, it has a ton of interactive features like dining, cooking demonstrations and kid-friendly activities.

Four key observations stand out:

The concept gives people a reason to go to a physical store

It is a formidable one-stop shop for Baby, Home Goods, Beauty and OTC

BBBY carries the cachet brands that Walmart and even Amazon crave, but cannot acquire

Real estate for this type of footprint will only get cheaper over time.

While there is still much to fix in the concept (e.g. literal walls separating the store fronts, no universal point-of-sale system and mediocre dining experiences), it will be hard for BBBY’s mass-market competition to duplicate its efforts with as much product cachet.

6. Amazon will regret moving Whole Foods to centralized buying

Centralized buying is a bad move. It is a classic MBA consulting move, not a customer-focused one. Localized products and brand reps who entice customers to try new things are key to Whole Foods’ vibe.

Removing them makes Whole Foods less special. Accidentally take the gluten-free coconut nibs out of the local Whole Foods, and there will be hell to pay.

Stepping back, centralization could be a great move, but Amazon should not take the standard approach to the problem. Instead Amazon should use its synergies from the merger, in this case its "everything store," and act like an online distributor for Whole Foods.

Localized Whole Foods buyers could still differentiate assortments at the store level via a web interface, and Amazon could still reap the benefit of large scale cost purchase discounts that service both Whole Foods and Amazon’s own direct-to-consumer businesses.

7. Pop-up retail will be hot, but it won't solve everything

"Pop-up" is one of the sexiest words in retail right now, right alongside voice and VR. Large malls, small malls and the retailers within these malls are struggling. Concurrently, e-commerce players are desperate to expand the reach of their brands.

Ergo, pop-up retail seems like an answer — mall operators can bring in new tenants on quick leases, existing retailers can keep their salesfloors fresh through space rental and e-commerce players can get into the physical game without getting locked into high rents.

It will all make sense until the underlying business economics of retail change (i.e. until technology fuels more productivity gains and utilizes working capita differently). The same problem that plagues retail — namely traffic — will plague pop-up shops too.

Bonobos was the first penguin in the water with their guideshop concept, and they had to bail out and sell to Walmart. The pop-up concept is not different enough. It is just another side of the same coin.

8. Wayfair will hit its sophomore slump

I have always been a huge fan of Wayfair, but now they are moving from Act I to Act II, so my expectations have risen.

Customers are likely unhappy with Wayfair’s delivery and customer service

Shoppers are simply poaching Wayfair on price via Google searches

Wayfair’s brand doesn’t make people "feel”

If a customer is going to come back to a brand again and again, he or she needs to feel something. Wayfair’s brand does not create a right-brained connection with its consumers. Left-brained analytics Wayfair has down pat, but its marketing feels like Anthony Michael Hall leading dorks in Sixteen Candles to try to get a date — It has no soul.

Fortunately, these problems are 100% correctable over time, but a $6 billion market cap for a brand without a soul, still struggling to reach profitability, is a pricey bet in the interim.

9. The narrative will move from apocalypse to reformation

Apocalypse is a silly word. It means complete destruction. People will always need to buy stuff.

Therefore, retail and physical stores will never go away. They will just look different.

Mix it up, shake it up, drink this futuristic cocktail however you want. It is a cocktail of possibility that portends a future of revitalization and reformation, much in the same way Martin Luther sought to reform the Catholic Church in the 16th century.

In 2018, we will begin to see the rise of a new generation of retail inventors who, like Martin Luther, will fight to nail their own modern-day theses on the doors of retail’s establishment.

10. Amazon will destroy Black Friday as we know it

Ponder this timeline — Amazon announces, to altruistic fanfare, its H2Q location in the first part of the year, and then Jeff Bezos sits back and says to his minions, "It is time to destroy everyone.”

He can too, in one fell swoop, by secretly planning to hold another Prime Day just days before Thanksgiving. This move would be the Death Star blow to retail. Physical retail could not adjust in time:

Black Friday customer traffic would be far less than retailers planned

Store payroll planning would be too rigid to adjust on such short notice

Inventories would back up and lead to even more aggressive discounting during the holiday season

The days on which Black Friday and Cyber Monday fall are arbitrary. While legacy retailers are creatures of habit, Bezos is the master of finding arbitrage opportunities like this, going all in, and leaving no prisoners.

People

"Jennifer brings a tremendous combination of experience in government, leadership, and knowledge of how things work in our environment,” said Colorado Lottery Director, Tom Seaver. “Her legal credentials will prove invaluable to the lottery, as will her work ethic, and effectiveness as a manager. We're very happy to have her on the team."